


Premeditated

by ButWhosCounting



Category: The Code (TV 2019)
Genre: Angst, Attempt at Humor, F/M, First Meetings, I'm Bad At Tagging, Pre-Canon, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:16:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29973783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ButWhosCounting/pseuds/ButWhosCounting
Summary: Abe squinted at her as a pinch of recognition tugged at the edges of his consciousness, but he couldn’t place where he had seen her without seeing her face. Suddenly, she turned her head slightly as she sipped her drink, revealing her side-profile and causing Abe’s heart to perk up in his chest. “It’s her,” he whispered to himself.------------------------------------------------------------------He knew her name and that she hailed from North Carolina, and that was about it. He'd been waiting for an opportunity to introduce himself ever since he first saw her on base. When an opportunity finally presented itself, he took it.
Relationships: John "Abe" Abraham & Maya Dobbins





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my take on how these two met and an attempt at explaining the weird flirty and slightly tense vibes I get from their interactions on the show. I also ship them hard. This is not the best thing I've written but it was fun in a challenging sort of way. Not crazy about the title either. Oh well. Enjoy. This will have 3 chapters, I think.

"Gin"

_Sometime in 2009_

Abe felt the weight of the long work week start to melt off his shoulders as he and three friends ambled into their favorite bar on the island. It was Friday night, and after a long week of fulfilling their duties on base, the four Marines set off to paint the small town and pretend for just a night that they weren’t saddled with the responsibility of protecting their country from foreign attack.

Bill’s Tavern was a small, homely place with sticky floors and hideous taxidermy—the latter of which one would not typically see at a bar in Oahu. Bill, the owner and full-time bartender, consistently claimed that he had been dating a woman from Bozeman, Montana when he chose decorations for the bar, and that the stuffed heads had cost him too much to justify getting rid of them now. An obvious lie, Abe knew, since the burly man looked like a Hawaiian version of a lumberjack. He kept his hair long and his wardrobe consisted entirely of flannel shirts, even in the warmer months. Despite the unpleasant adornments on its walls, the alcohol selection at Bill’s was extensive and cheap, two things you wanted if you were an active-duty, low-ranking Marine with a subpar monthly allowance while stationed at a base in a state with one of the highest costs of living in the country.

The four of them claimed an empty pool table as Abe took in his surroundings. The usual patrons he expected to see on a Friday night were all present. The entire senior citizen population of Kailua sat in a corner booth playing cards, a group of mothers who always had at least one member burst into tears at some point during the night occupied another booth. There were men of varying ages that wore ties and sulking, disconnected faces sitting alone or in groups; that one couple who never failed to get into a screaming match but always made up before the closing time, and an obnoxious group of kids who claimed they were over 21 but could not have been any older than 18. His eyes settled on someone he had never seen at Bill’s previously, at least not while he was there. A young woman, likely in her early twenties, with long, impeccably curled light brown hair with blonde highlights, sat alone at the bar, her back to him. She tapped her nails against the smooth glass of her cocktail as she chatted with Bill, who was filling several pitchers of beer at the tap a few feet away. Abe squinted at her as a pinch of recognition tugged at the edges of his consciousness, but he couldn’t place where he had seen her without seeing her face. Suddenly, she turned her head slightly as she sipped her drink, revealing her side-profile and causing Abe’s heart to perk up in his chest. “It’s _her_ ,” he whispered to himself.

“Bill said he’s trying to sell out a few of the domestics to make room for those trendy local beers from craft breweries popping up all over Honolulu,” Corporal Osbourne announced as he sauntered over, lugging a filled-to-the-brim, frosty pitcher and a stack of glasses in both hands. “Bud is half price, so that’s what we’re drinking tonight, my dudes.” He set the pitcher and glasses on a stool next to the pool table as the other two men set up for a game. “Abe, what are you looking—” Ozzi began, following Abe’s eyes to the bar. “Oh… _that_?” He let out a scornful, bitter laugh and folded his arms. “Don’t waste your time, man. She doesn’t put out. I’ve made several attempts.”

Abe grinned and shook his head. “Maybe stop using _demonstratives_ to refer to females and try showering more often than twice a month…then maybe you’d have better luck with the ladies? Just a hunch,” he shrugged as he clapped Ozzi on the shoulder. The other two men cackled as they arranged the pool balls on the table.

Ozzi grumbled before downing an entire glass of beer.

“Go ahead and start without me,” Abe told his friends. He glanced over at the woman at the bar before addressing them again with a sly smile. “I’ve got a very important mission to attend to.”

Ozzi downed another 16 ounces of beer, ignoring Abe. “Who needs ladies when I have the _King of Beers_ to keep me company…”

“Dude… _that_ is the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“You’re one to talk, Hunt. You’re almost 24 and you’ve only nailed _one_ girl.” Jason grinned at Ozzi good-naturedly, “Gonna keep it that way, if I’m lucky.” He took his small phone out of his pocket and flipped it open, fixing heart-shaped eyes on a tiny, square, low resolution photo of a young brunette woman with a cheeky smile.

“Ugh…” Ozzi shuddered, “you make me sick.” He downed yet another glass.

“You’re gonna make _yourself_ sick and wind up kicked out again if you don’t slow down,” Abe cautioned. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…” He turned toward the bar and squared his shoulders. Before, he could leave, he felt a hand on one of his squared shoulders.

“Sir, will you be requiring a wing-man?” Abe chuckled. “I wasn’t aware you knew what a wing-man was, Mr. Ahmadi. I appreciate the offer, but no, I think I’ll be just fine solo. And, kindly stop calling me ‘sir’.

Rami gave Abe a serious look. “Happy to, sir, as soon as you stop referring to me as _Mr. Ahmadi_.”

“Guess I’m ‘sir’ indefinitely,” Abe muttered, nodding to his friend before turning around, taking a breath and squaring his shoulders once again before moseying toward the woman at the bar. “Lance Corporal Maya-Jean Dobbins,” he greeted in the smoothest tone he could muster.

She looked up from her drink, her expression a mixture of alarm and bewilderment. Abe’s heart fluttered as her black-lined blue eyes swept over him. “It’s _Maya_ ,” she corrected in a low, velvety voice that made him slightly weak in the knees. She glared up at him as she took a swig of her drink. “I’m getting it legally changed… Who are you,” she demanded with a sigh, not bothering to hide her exasperation.

“My apologies, _Maya_ ,” Abe recovered, purposefully keeping his tone light as he inwardly kicked himself. He cleared his throat and stuck out his hand. “I’m Sergeant John Abraham, but most people know me as Abe.”

Maya blinked. “Oh. You’re from the base.” The incandescent lights from the bar reflected off her glossy lips as she quirked a corner of them into a tentative half-smile. She shook his hand. “Pleasure, Abe. What can I do for you?”

Abe melted a little at the hint of a Southern accent in her voice, before fixing her with his most charming grin and taking a seat at the empty stool next to her. “I’d like to do something for _you_ , actually. I’d like to buy you another one of those,” he nodded to the empty drink in front of her. Bill caught his eye in between checking out a customer at the register out of Maya’s view, flashing Abe with an encouraging grin and a thumbs-up.

Maya chuckled and looked at him strangely, squinting her eyes. “You’d like to _buy_ me another ice water, huh? How incredibly generous of you. Bet if you talked nicely to Bill here,” she glanced over at the burly man, “he’d even give it you for _free_.” Bill wiped down the bar with a rag, pretending not to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Abe grinned, doing his best to keep his face from reflecting the astonishment he felt inside. “Sure…” he answered hesitantly. It was rare, but not unheard of to encounter a dry Marine, strange as it was. Rami didn’t drink, either. “Hey, Bill?” Bill nodded at him as he finished wiping down the edge of the bar. Abe placed his debit card down. “One old-fashioned and another ice water for my new friend—” he quieted as he heard Maya snort and looked over to see her and Bill exchange amused smiles before both broke down into laughter. Abe would’ve been mortified if he hadn’t been so downright captivated by Maya’s dimpled smile and her easy, throaty laugh. He grimaced, picking up the glass and putting it near his nose. “Ahh. Gin,” he sighed. “It did seem a _little_ strange that a pretty woman would get all dolled up on a Friday night just to drink water _alone_ at a bar…” he muttered.

“Should’ve seen the look on your face. She got you good,” Bill offered Maya his fist, who pounded it with satisfaction. “An old-fashioned and a gin and tonic, coming right up.”

Maya patted him sympathetically on his hand. A diamond-encrusted ring on her hand caught his eye. “You can treat me to some water later on tonight when I need to sober up, capiche?” She smirked.

Abe’s stomach leapt slightly at the possibility of there being a ‘later on’ with this woman. “Forget it, Lance Corporal, you’ve squandered any chances of getting a free water outta me,” he feigned defensiveness.

Maya pouted playfully. “ _Ouch._ If I’d known that you were so sensitive, Abe, maybe I wouldn’t have taken me up on your initial offer.”

“Well, if _I’d_ known you would attempt to embarrass me within seconds of meeting, maybe I wouldn’t have come over here.” He nodded to Maya’s right hand. “You married?”

Maya’s gaze flickered to her own hand. She shook her head. “I was, up until recently. I just keep this on now to flash it at hungry, drooling assholes like yourself to scare ‘em off.”

“ _Oh_ …” Maya muffled a laugh into her hand. Abe threw his hands up in exasperation and shook his head as Bill set down drinks in front of them. “One more joke out of you and I’m making you pay me back for that,” Abe nodded to the fresh gin and tonic in front of her.

“Enjoy,” Bill laughed. “Take it easy on him, will ya Maya? It’s not his fault he’s such a dumbass. Hit his head one too many times in combat.”

Abe picked up his glass and gave him a curt nod. “Love ya too, Bill.” He took a long drink.

“ _Relax_ ,” Maya placated, taking a sip of her drink. “It’s actually a good sign that I’m teasing you so mercilessly. Most of the men who proposition me at bars don’t even make it past their horrendous pick-up lines.”

Abe put a hand to his chest, pretending to be touched by her words. “I’m truly honored that you decided I was worthy of spending my hard-earned money on you _and_ being made a fool by you, twice over.”

“You’re welcome. You just happen to be the first half decent human being I’ve met since I’ve been on this island. Well, besides Bill, of course.”

“The first and likely the last, I’m afraid.”

She put her chin in her hand and studied him. “There’s something about you that I can’t put my finger on… You’re extremely annoying and yet… _endearing_ at the same time. I’m not sure if want to hug you or… _slap_ you, honestly.”

Abe grinned and raised his eyebrows. “I tend to have that effect on people. You’ll make your decision soon enough, though. Personally, I’m praying I won’t get slapped.”

She giggled and fiddled absentmindedly with a toothpick. “Guess we’ll see…”

“What are you doing here alone, anyway? Would’ve thought you would be over at the Hula Lounge with all the women.”

Maya rolled her eyes and annoyance settled on her face. “Please. All of my female colleagues at my job are utterly insufferable…”

“Are you sure _you’re_ not the one who’s insufferable?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I never said I wasn’t.”

“So…you’re insufferable, you enjoy mercilessly teasing others, and you shoot lasers from your eyes at anyone who calls you by your full first name,” he summarized as he ticked these things off his fingers. “You’re really making a great case for me to get as far away from you as possible. Any last words before I run for the hills? Gonna tell me you’re actually man, next?”

Maya laughed. “Doesn’t really matter how I answer that question. We’re in a public place. There’s no appropriate way for me to provide you proof of my biological gender.”

Abe cleared his throat uneasily. “Okay, then. Guess I’ll just hope that you are what you appear to be. How about we steer this conversation towards typical ‘getting-to-know-you’ subjects?”

“Be my guest.”

“How long have you been in the Corps?”

“Nine months, give or take.”

Abe almost spit out his drink. “Hold on. You’re a Lance Corporal and you’ve only been serving _nine months_? You’re moving fast.”

Maya shrugged. “I have a tendency of scoring within the 99th percentile on tests. Also, the phrase ‘second best’ doesn’t compute with me. Never has.” Abe let out a low whistle.

“Clearly. So, you’ve been stationed here for—what—seven months, then? How come I haven’t seen you around before a few weeks ago?”

“You haven’t seen me because I just got here. I’ve been in Pensacola training for my MOS.”

“Which is…”

“Air traffic control. But my CO wants to put me to work in Intelligence once I’m promoted to Sergeant.”

“ _Impressive_.”

She shrugged again. “I guess. It’s not what I want to do long-term.”

Abe cocked his head at her. “Long-term?”

“Yes, Abe. Believe it or not, some people in our age group make long-term plans.”

“So…what’s your _long-term plan_ , then?”

“Finish up my tour in a year and a half, go to law school, begin my career in military law,” she recited without taking a breath. “Maybe you should consider a career in law… You seem to have a knack for,” she paused, eyeing him wearily, “interrogating…” she finished.

“That’s quite a plan. Don’t you ever slow down?”

She shook her head. “Life’s too short to slow down…” she looked down at her glass, her features suddenly somber as darkness seemed to inhabit her. “You never know what day might be your last…” She downed her drink.

Abe tilted his head and peered at her. “Everything okay there?”

Maya twirled her empty glass around and smiled softly, her eyes sad. “Yeah. It’s my dad’s birthday. He would’ve been 47.” Abe nodded, frowning.

“I’m sorry,” he responded genuinely. “I bet he’d be really proud of you.”

“Thanks,” she responded with a half-smile. “He’s why I joined the Marines…” She swallowed, seemingly pushing the sadness down, erasing it from her face as quickly as it had been etched into it, leaving it blank. Detached. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be a downer.”

“That’s okay.” He tapped on her empty glass. “More drink?”

Maya nodded. “Keep ‘em coming.”

Abe waved at Bill and gestured to the two empty glasses.

“Anyway. Enough about me. Let’s talk about you. Let me guess…” she sized him up. “You come from an extended family of Marines.”

“Not bad, Dobbins. How’d you figure?”

“I don’t know. Just a vibe you give off, I guess. Like this is what you’ve known you were going to do your whole life…and that you this is what you plan to do for the rest of it.”

“I wasn’t aware that I was giving off that vibe, but I’ll take it…”

“It’s not a bad thing. I admire your dedication to your career.”

“And I admire your drive.”

Bill brought them another round of drinks. “Take it easy, kids. It’s only _8:30pm_ for crying out loud. Space ‘em out a little more, will ya?”

Abe rolled his eyes. “In that case, we’ll take two shots of bourbon, _dad_.”

Bill laughed. “Sure. That mortgage of mine ain’t gonna pay itself, after all. But don’t think for a second that I’m cleaning your puke off my floors again, _son_.”

Abe groaned. Maya laughed into her hand.

“Well…I think this calls for a toast.” Abe held up his glass. “To your dad on his birthday.”

Maya raised her glass and they clinked them together. “To dad…” she echoed softly, smiling wistfully before throwing back the rest of her drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abe's a bit arrogant (he's hot and he knows it) but Maya puts him in his place (she may be a tiny bit full of herself too). Thank you for reading. More to come.


	2. Chapter 2

"Moonlight"

Maya joined Abe and his friends at the pool table after they finished up their drinks at the bar. She stayed with them for the next several hours, seamlessly falling into step with Abe’s friends as if she were one of the guys, playing pool and singing terrible karaoke renditions before settling into a booth to eat fries, take shots and go through one pitcher of beer after another as they sang along to other patrons’ karaoke picks. Abe couldn’t tell if he was intoxicated by alcohol or the woman sitting at his side in the booth. He was elated to discover that she appeared to be as funny, easy-going, and fun as she was beautiful. Maybe it was his inebriated brain talking, but it was all he could do to keep himself from kneeling down and proposing to her right then and there with a ring constructed from a French fry. Instead, he put his arm around her and his stomach did an exhilarated dance when she leaned into him effortlessly, without hesitation or a second thought.

At two minutes past midnight, Jason checked his phone. “It’s midnight, gents!” He declared. He eyed Maya. “And lady,” he added quickly. “Time for a swim!” The four men made noises of enthusiasm before draining their glasses and standing up.

Maya eyed Abe with furrowed eyebrows. “A _swim?_ ”

Abe grinned. “Yeah, like in the ocean. We’re a fifteen-minute walk from Kailua Beach.” He stood up and offered his hand. “Let’s go!”

She took his hand and stood up on wobbly legs. “Isn’t that a little irresponsible, considering we’re all _hammered_ and it’ll be pitch dark on the beach?”

Abe shrugged. “We don’t have go in, we can just stay on the shore and put sand in their socks,” he gestured to Jason and Ozzi, who were at the bar closing out their tabs.

Maya flashed him a devious grin as she picked up her purse. “Okay, but I get dibs on Ozzi’s. He’s a douchebag. And he smells bad.”

“He is quite the bad-smelling-douchebag,” Abe agreed. “Honestly, the only reason we hang out with him is because he makes the rest of us look like saints. Well, with the exception of Rami, who is already a literal saint. Pretty sure the man hasn’t so much as harbored an unkind thought about anyone.”

“We’ll leave Rami’s socks alone, then. I’d rather not destroy my prospects of getting into Heaven. And I’m floating on some pretty thin ice already…”

“Sounds like a plan.”

She took his hand again, “Lead the way, Sergeant.”

***

Abe and Maya sat on the shore, their toes buried in sand and wind whipping their clothes as the three men flipped over, dove through and ducked under the waves, hooting and hollering. Abe leaned back on his hands so that he could watch the wind brush against her moonlit hair.

Maya put her chin in her hand. “I just love seeing stupidity in action,” she remarked, sighing happily as her cheek lifted in a grin.

“Hey,” Abe returned defensively. “If you weren’t here, I’d be in there with them, you know.”

Maya turned back to look at him. “I know. You’re stupidest of the bunch.”

Abe put his hand to his heart and winced. “And to think, I was even going to offer you my coat because you look cold. Forget it. You can freeze to death for all I care.”

“How original,” she rolled her eyes, “never heard that trick before,” she mumbled before turning back and studying the waves. “Oh my god…” she uttered, her hand slowly coming to her mouth.

“What?” Abe sat up, peering at her face.

Maya’s eyes were wide with horror as she slowly brought a hand up to point to the ocean.

Abe followed her eyes to his friends, who were tossing a long piece of seaweed between them like a football as they jumped over waves. “What is it, M—” he started, confused, before flinching as a handful of damp, gritty sand slid down his back. Maya snorted with sloppy, inebriated laughter. He tugged at the back of his shirt, unable to hold back a grin at seeing the woman next to him giggling like a five-year-old as he shook sand out of his shirt and off his back. “You’re a decent actress, I’ll give you that,” he muttered, before a sudden idea manifested itself in his brain. “Say…” he began with faux-curiosity, “…what color is your hair?”

Maya’s smug smile faded, and she tilted her head and eyed him suspiciously. “What?”

“Your hair,” he clarified, innocently. “Would you say it’s like,” he stealthily plucked a small clump of sand from behind him and rapidly crumbled it over her hair, “ _sandy_ brown?”

Maya yelped and jumped to her feet, shaking her hair out, before picking up a clump of sand and nailing him in his chest with it, to which he instinctively shielded his eyes from, but still managed to get in his mouth. Maya keeled over with laughter, before taking off over the beach when Abe jumped to his feet. She didn’t make it far before a foot slid out behind her and she lost her footing, tumbling messily to the ground, as she shook with laughter.

Abe laughed and offered her a hand up, which she ignored and flipped over onto her back, putting her hands behind her head and fixing him with a flirtatious grin. Abe gulped quietly, before lowering himself on the ground next to her, mirroring her pose and turning his head to grin over at her. “You’re _really_ lucky I like you,” he informed her good-naturedly.

She turned toward him and propped her head up with an arm, quirking an eyebrow playfully and smiling softly. Grains of sand stuck to her nose and cheek. “ _Do_ you now? Even after I made you eat sand, huh?”

He mirrored her pose once again. “Sure do. Sand is a good source of iodine…or so they say, so I don’t mind eating it from time to time.”

She bit the corner of her lip. “Well... _You’re_ lucky you’re cute…” she purred.

“ _Am_ I now?” Maya nodded, biting her lip again and grinning.

He chuckled, trying to keep his body language cool as his insides started to heat up. “Half of your face is caked in sand. Here,” he reached over and gently brushed the sand off her nose, before caressing the sand off her cheek. Her eyes, a shiny deep blue from the moon that reflected in them, seemed to linger on his lips. He kept his hand cupped against her cheek, before taking in a wobbly, quiet breath and leaning in.

“My apologies for breaking up this truly beautiful display of affection, but I’m afraid I must inform you that the last shuttle bus leaves in ten minutes.”

The two of them jumped. “Rami… _Christ_ ,” Abe breathed, looking up at him in shock, and then down the beach where their two other friends were gathering their things. “What the—? Did you teleport here or something?”

“My last name is Ahmadi, not _Christ_ , sir. And why is it that everyone seems to presume I have the ability to teleport?” He asked, genuinely baffled, before shaking his head and turning to walk back toward his shirt and shoes.

Abe groaned, turning to Maya, who had an amused look on her face. “We really should go… it’s a long trek back to base and the taxi services here are subpar _and_ overpriced.”

Maya shrugged. “No worries,” she smiled easily, tracing a finger lightly over his chest. “To be continued in your bedroom,” she stated nonchalantly, before sitting up and brushing the sand off her shirt.

It was all Abe could do to keep his eyes from bugging out of his head. “Uh…yeah. Okay. Sure.”

***

Under an hour later, they lay side by side in his bed, a sheet lightly covering both of them. Abe’s body hummed as the last remnants of Maya’s voracious, vibrant energy exited his veins, his breathing slowing while his mind remained activated as memories of multiple layers of sensation coursed through it.

“ _Wow_ … That was… You’re…” he breathed, his short-circuited brain fumbling for words in the dark. He turned to look at her. She rested her eyes on the ceiling, her expression unreadable. She gave him a quick sideways glance before turning away from him.

“Glad you enjoyed yourself,” she murmured lackadaisically as she rolled out of his bed and stood up before stooping to the floor, gathering her clothes and throwing them on haphazardly.

Abe watched her with baffled eyes. “Are…are you okay?”

She buttoned her pants and briefly glanced over her shoulder at him. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered lightly.

Abe gave her a doubtful chuckle. “Um…typically when a girl starts to leave in a rush after having sex with a guy it means she is anything _but_ fine. What’s wrong?” He prodded gently as he sat up halfway, propping himself up on an elbow. “Did I do something to upset you?”

She put on her blouse before turning around to face him, her expression tired. “No…Abe. Everything’s fine. I’ve just got to go.”

He felt his stomach drop as she walked toward the door to his room. “Wait,” he called softly after her. “Can’t I get your number or something?”

“I don’t have a cell phone…” She opened his door quietly and slipped out. “It’s a small base. We’ll find each other.” And with that, she was gone.

Abe attempted to soothe his own worries, telling himself that there was nothing behind her rapid, cold exit and that she had, in fact, needed to go. He almost believed himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter. Thanks for reading!

"Tension"

Three days passed before he saw her again. It was 0530 and he was exiting the gym as the sun peaked over the horizon. He turned to his left and there she was, walking briskly, about 25 feet away in his direction, although she didn’t seem to notice his presence. His heart rate, which was already elevated from his workout, quickened. Abe wasn’t stupid. He knew that Maya would have found a way to see him again if she wanted, so he was letting fate decide whether he would get a chance to talk to her again. He guessed this was a sign from the universe giving him this very opportunity, or an explanation for her behavior at the very least. He didn’t have to call out to her. Her eyes found him and he raised a hand in greeting. Her posture wilted slightly and she nodded to him casually, as if none of the events from that last Friday night had transpired. She slowed to a stop as he approached her. He noticed she was wearing jogging clothing and panting, as if she had just finished sprinting. “Well, well…if it isn’t the World’s Best Irish Exit-er.”

Maya looked down at the ground uncomfortably and ran the back of her hand over her moist forehead. She folded her arms before glancing back up again, managing a small chuckle. “I learned from the best. My grandmother was a Dubliner.”

“Ah.” He attempted a disarming, easy smile. It seemed to work, as Maya appeared to relax a little. She unfolded her arms and watched him expectantly, eyebrows raised. “Look…Maya,” he began. “I’ve read the writings on the wall. You’ve made it very clear that you’re not interested in…” he let out a breath, “taking what we did on Friday any further. I am a little confused, though…and concerned about you. Did I…” he swallowed, “did I do something wrong? Did I hurt you in some way? Did I misread your—”

She shook her head, silencing him. “No, Abe. You didn’t do anything wrong, and you didn’t misread anything,” she answered quickly, dismissively. “And it was consensual…if that’s what you’re so worked up about.”

Abe exhaled, relieved. “Okay.” He opened his mouth again. “But…was it—” he paused, “was _I_ —” he dug his teeth into his bottom lip, quickly regretting his choice to pose this question.

Maya gave an amused sigh. “It was good. Enjoyable, even. Don’t worry. Your ego shall remain untarnished for another day.”

“So…it was a premeditated hit-and-run, huh?”

She put her hands on her hips. “Well, the way you’re choosing to word it makes me sound cruel… _and_ creepy, but…to be frank, yes. That’s how I pictured the night going with you. Were you picturing something different?”

Abe chuckled sheepishly. “Um, yeah…a little, _to be frank_. If I’m not mistaken, we had a connection. We were laughing a lot…teasing each other. You seemed happy, and I know I was.”

She folded her arms again. “We were drunk, Abe,” she deadpanned. “ _Of course_ we had a connection. Of course we were laughing.”

“I see your point,” Abe sighed as he ran a hand over his hair. “So can we…at least try to get to know each other, again? As friends? _Sober_ friends?”

Maya’s face and posture stiffened, and tension permeated the space between them, a glower replacing the mild exasperation on her face. “ _Look_ , Sergeant,” she bristled, her voice rising a few decibels in volume, her bright eyes boring into his. “I _gave_ you what you wanted, okay? Isn’t that why you approached me? Tell me I’m wrong,” she rushed out, pain creeping up on her features, before she seemingly flicked a switch and her face shed the emotion, as if it were a whiteboard having just been wiped clean with an eraser. Abe suddenly had a flash of déjà vu.

“No—” he exhaled. “I mean—I dunno,” he let out a breath, looking at the ground and scratching his nose nervously. “I’ll admit that my initial attraction to you was physical…I am _human_ after all. But that’s not why I approached you. The physical stuff was secondary. I wanted to hang with you. Get to know you.”

“Well, I _didn’t_ , okay? Just because I’m a woman you assumed I wanted those things and that I was looking for a relationship…and all that romantic, fluffy crap that comes with it.”

“And you just assumed all I wanted was sex, because I’m a man,” Abe countered quietly. Maya glared at him but said nothing. “I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions about you,” Abe continued. “Guess I was blinded by how much I liked you…”

“I’m flattered,” Maya muttered half-heartedly, appearing exhausted all of the sudden as the last of her anger seemingly dissipated. “Either way, this isn’t gonna happen, Abe. I’m sorry. I don’t date…and I don’t hang out with the people I’ve done the deed with.”

“ _People_?”

She ignored his question and awkwardly patted him on the shoulder. “For what it’s worth…I had fun. And, you know what they say…‘plenty of other fish’.” She chuckled softly. “See…that’s kinda funny because the ocean is right over there. So you’ve got your pick of the litter, I guess.”

“I’ll miss that sense of humor.” She looked at him softly and quirked the corner of her lip up as she shielded her eyes from the sun and a breeze swept her high ponytail do the side. “Bye, Abe. Take care, okay?”

He watched her jog away, out of his life. “Plenty of other fish…but none extraordinary as you…” he murmured to himself as his heart sank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 23-year-old Maya is kind of a hot mess...but who can blame her? She really liked Abe, but couldn't talk herself into giving him a chance, not with the pain of her divorce still so fresh and her shame about not being able to bear children. 
> 
> They were both deployed to different stations overseas a month or so later, and wouldn't see each other again for another 5 years or so at Quantico. They might've hooked up a couple times after that within the first year of working together, before Abe and that woman from the NCIS (I forget her name) got together.
> 
> Maya tells Harper several months or so after they get together and Harper barely lifts an eyebrow, telling Maya that she'd always expected something had gone down between them.


End file.
